By Jonty Ralphsmith
Digital marketing expert Sam McEwin was invited to a business breakfast at Sandown Greyhounds on Thursday 14 July.
Founder and director of BizWisdom, which provides digital marketers with skills and strategies, Mr McEwin spoke about how small businesses could give themselves a point of difference.
McEwin spoke about different, less-tapped forms of advertising, emphasising the importance of digital advertisements and using social and traditional media as a promotional tool.
He did, however, say digital marketing could complement – rather than replace – traditional advertising.
“There are segments over the world that don’t watch as much TV or spend time watching subscriptions or other media that is digital, so what we are experiencing is not the death of traditional media,” he said.
“Some of the tradional media is growing but we are seeing fragmentation and that’s really challenging for big brands; instead of putting advertising dollars into one channel, there are several.
“For small business, that’s even more challenging because we have limited resources and we can’t put it in to all channels; we have to make a decision about where we will put it in today so we can try and get some return so we can increase the marketing budget and invest in something more.”
He also informed patrons of the significance of striking a 60-40 balance between brand endorsement with direct-response advertising to optimise short and long-term returns.
The sit-down breakfast was hosted by the Greater Dandenong Chamber of Commerce and provided small businesses in the area with an opportunity to network.
People have until Saturday 13 August to enter for an award at the chamber function held later in the year.
